


Explorer

by FallenFurther



Series: Sensory Sunday [2]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Beaches, Comfort, Exploration, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Holidays, Mild Hurt/Comfort, References to Thunderbirds, Running Off, SensorySunday, Touching, Tumblr Prompt, rock pooling, rocks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:49:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenFurther/pseuds/FallenFurther
Summary: A family holiday on the English coast and Gordon decides he wants to go rock pooling alone. Intent on finding something cool to show his brothers, he ends up getting a little hurt in the process.Sense prompt: Touch
Relationships: Gordon Tracy & Lucille Tracy
Series: Sensory Sunday [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771204
Kudos: 11





	Explorer

The barnacled rock was rough against his feet, but it didn't bother Gordon. With his bucket full of water, he carefully clambered over the rocks, looking for a good pool. A holiday in England, visiting the seaside holiday home of a family friend, had become quite the adventure for the five-year old. The water was cold, even with the sun shining down it seemed to freeze his body. The sun was warm on his skin and it was cooler than the summers he was used to. His brothers complained but Gordon saw the opportunity. A new country meant a new beach. The different temperature meant new and different sea life to find! The beach may be sandy, but it was enclosed by dark ragged rock which he just knew would contain rock pools. Last night Gordon had gone into the library to pester John and had found a set of old coastal handbooks in the shelves. The one on rock pools was now sticking out his back pocket, ready to be opened. His fingers slipped into the crevice of the craggy rock and he pulled himself up. As he clambered over the top, before him was his prize. 

Gordon lent in close to the rock as he edged over to an outcrop that would make a good seat. He had to use both hands and his bucket splashed against his arm leaving a red mark where it banged against his skin. He settled himself on the rock and gave his arm a quick check. It didn't hurt when he poked the mark, so he turned his attention to the still pool of water. Gordon wasn't known for being patient or sitting still, but Dad had shown him how moving scared the creatures. It was hard, especially as his bottom slowly became numb against the rock, but Gordon sat and observed. His eyes scouting the water for any movement. Suddenly, movement near some seaweed caught his eye. Small fish darted across the pool and a smile crossed Gordon’s face. His hand reached for the book as he took in as much detail as he could about the little fish before they disappeared. Small, some shiny scales along their sides. He flipped through the small book to the chapter on fish. Gordon had picked it for the pictures, and he flicked through, scrutinising each picture until he came to the one of a fish with blue-green scales dotted in a line along its side. Gordon still wasn’t great at reading, but he knew it was what he had just seen. Slipping the pen from his front pocket he put a tick next to the name. 

Placing the book and pen on the side, Gordon reached down and waved his hand through the seaweed. The bright green seaweed floated in the cool water and felt like hair in his hand. The little fish darted out from their hiding place. Gordon started chasing them about tying to catch one, but they were just too quick. He wouldn’t be able to show one of those to his brothers. All the splashing had rocked the seaweed exposing a small orangey starfish. Gordon dried his hands on his shorts and grabbed his book, matched the picture, and ticked it. He would have put it in his bucket, but it was too small. He’d need a bigger one to impress his brothers. He quickly flipped to the seaweed section and ticked off the two types in the pool. A quick flick through and he found the page with the barnacles on it and the one with the limpets on. These were scattered all over the rocks and thus boring. 

Having exhausted that pool, Gordon slipped the book and pen back into his pocket and climbed deeper into the rocks. There were loads of small pools, which held the odd bit of seaweed and nothing else. After climbing another jagged rock Gordon paused to look at his hands. His palms were sore and some of the skin had been roughened up by the barnacles. Gordon turned towards the way he had come. He could barely see over the rocks and he certainly couldn’t see the beach, but the idea of turning back without something cool made Gordon continue. He clambered over another rock, only to see a red bodges in a nearby pool. He headed straight to the pool and he crouched over it, getting a good look at the anemones. He’d seen them at the aquarium, and they had looked so squishy. Gordon reached in and stuck his finger into the extended red tentacles. The tentacles retracted but they had felt sticky to the touch. He did the same to the other one in the pool, chuckling slightly as it retreated. He ticked them off before heading toward the rocks closer to the sea. There were more red anemones as he got closer, however just as he was about to start climbing, he noticed a big dark red bulb just above the water. Moving closer, he noted the small yellow spots coating it. He reached out and poked it. It was slimy but soft, and very squishy. He rubbed his finger on it a bit more before stepping back and locating it in his book. The name he ticked contained the word ‘strawberry’. He was going to have to get someone to read the description to him later. Gordon continued to explore the rocks. He found a small crab, some more of the spotty anemones, some of them open with their tentacles flailing. Gordon was climbing over yet another rock, where there was a larger rock pool on the other side. What caught his eye was the bright green tentacles with purple tips in the water directly below. It looked like an alien. There was a thin ledge just above the pool, which Gordon tried to reach with his foot. 

“Gordon Cooper Tracy!”

Startled by the sound, Gordon turned to see his mother standing on a rock with her hands on her hips. At the same time, Gordon’s foot slipped, and he fell towards the pool. His foot and leg brushed against the tentacles while his other knee scraped against the rough barnacles. 

“Gordon!” 

His mother’s voice had lost its stern tone and was now full of concern. Gordon managed to hang on with one hand and pulled his leg out of the water. He got his foot on the ledge, the rock digging into the damp sole. But the feeling was nothing compared to pain that was radiating from where the alien tentacles had touched his skin. Tears were already forming in his eyes. The first one slid down his face and plopped into the water below. A firm hand on his arm made him look up into his mother’s brown eyes. She pulled him up and into her arms and he let the tears fall, burying his face into the soft fabric of her top. 

“Shush. It’s okay Gordon.” 

His mother rocked him slightly before carefully making her way back over the rocks. Gordon didn’t stop crying. Both his legs hurt. Soon they were back on the sand and his mother was placing him onto the blanket. 

“Jeff, get the first aid kit. Gordon’s scraped his leg.”

Gordon couldn’t stop the tears as the soft antiseptic wipe stung his knee as him mother cleaned the wound. Between blinks he could see where the barnacles had broken his skin. He sobbed as band aids were placed over the bleeding areas. Once done, his mother took his other leg and turned it. There was a red rash that started just under his knee and finished at his foot. It really hurt. Gordon sniffed, trying to hold back the tears as his brothers gathered around him. 

“How did you get this, Gordon?” His mother asked. 

“The…the alien tentacles.” 

His mother looked a confused and turned towards his dad, who just shrugged. It was John who stepped forward and grabbed the book from Gordon’s pocket and started thumbing through the pages. He stopped on one before turning it to Gordon. 

“Is this what stung you?”

On the page was a picture of pale green tentacles with light purple tips. Gordon nodded, and John turned book back to himself and read it aloud. 

“Snakelock Anemone, _Anemonia viridis_ , found on the south and western shores of Britain. They have distinctive bright green tentacles with purple tips and fluoresce under UV light. The Snakelock tentacles sting leaving a painful and sometimes itchy rash that can last up to one month, so be careful not to touch them.”

John passed the book to their mother, who checked it over. His Dad sighed. 

“This Gordon is why you don’t run off. Not only could you have been washed away if you had fallen in, you could have become trapped by the tide and the coast guard would have need to be called to come rescue you. You knew you shouldn’t have gone rock pooling alone, yet you did anyway. Let this be a lesson to you, son.”

Gordon nodded, though he could hear the worry in his father’s stern words. He had known he was going to get told off for running off. He had just hoped to have come back with something cool. His mother moved and scooped him up, as his brothers and father went back to their game of catch. His mother removed the pen that had been digging into him and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. She held open the book at the page of the snakelock and ticked it off for him. 

“How about we see what else you found, hey?”

Her head was rested on his, a comforting pressure that helped Gordon fight the tears. His mother thumbed through the book, reading to him all the names and information about the things he’d found. She helped him pronounce the Latin names, and all this distracted him from the tingling pain in his leg. It turned out he’d found a lot of things, including beadlet anemones, _Actinia equina_ , strawberry anemones, _Actinia fragracea_ , and the little fish were 2-Spot Goby, _Gobiusculus flavescens_. Gordon still wished he’d found a big crab, but that could wait until another day when his legs didn’t hurt anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I based all the things Gordon found on the last time I went rock pooling with friends. We didn't find any rare thing (or a starfish) but we were pretty chuffed to find the Snakelock anemone, and were glad we didn't touch it when we found out later it could sting you.


End file.
